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Palestinians pay the price for eviction of Jewish settlers in Hebron

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In retaliation for the forced evacuation of Jewish settlers from a Hebron house last Thursday,
some Jewish settlers attacked local Palestinians, throwing stones and
burning cars and houses. A video shot by the human rights association B'Tselem
shows some Jewish men shooting at Palestinians at close range.

Following the forced eviction from
the "House of Contention" in Hebron on Thursday, some settlers have adopted
a retaliatory process they call the "price tag" policy: every time they are
evacuated from an outpost that the Israeli government deems illegal, they will exact
"a price" by targeting the local Palestinian population. In the hours following
last week's eviction, settlers made incursions into Palestinian neighbourhoods,
torching houses and cars, shattering windows and damaging satellite dishes and
water tanks.

An amateur video of the unrest seems to show settlers
arguing with and then shooting two Palestinians. Villagers fight back by
throwing stones and beating up one of the Israelis. In the beginning, you can see
two men wearing kippas and armed with pistols. Later (at 1 minute, 58 seconds), another
Israeli fires a machine gun into the air and runs at the person holding the
camera, who stops filming to run away. The shooting was filmed by a member of
the victim's family equipped with a camera donated by Israeli Human Rights organization B'Tselem.

Two residents of the settlement, suspected of being
responsible for the shooting, turned themselves in to Israeli authorities on
Saturday and have been transferred to the custody of the Hebron District police
for questioning. One was released on bail.

I personally don't agree with the settler's reaction —
I can identify with them and understand them, but I don't condone their
violence. However, I do believe that the evictions last Thursday were completely
unjust. The house in question is subject to a municipal dispute that is
currently being discussed in courts. It is a judicial matter, not a political matter, not a defence matter: then why did the Defence minister send over soldiers to evacuate its owners? I'm only speculating, but I think that, being newly appointed, he was trying to gain following among leftist Israelis by ordering the evacuation.

The evictions were violent, some settlers were injured
in the process. They feel they have been badly treated, and that by losing their
home they are subjected to a financial prejudice.

Their reaction was a response to that.

Nobody wants an escalation in violence, but unjustified
evictions like this one are only fuelling resentment. The population in
Hebron is much too radical, both on Israeli and
Palestinian sides, for there ever to be lasting peace in that part of Israel."

"The violence is intended to send a strong message to the Israeli government"

I don't justify the burning of houses per se, but I
understand the logic behind the "price tag" rhetoric. The idea is not to make it
easy for the government to order these evictions; it's a form of intimidation. I
think Thursday's events will send a strong message to the government, to
dissuade them from ordering future settlement evacuations.

Of course the government is wrong to evacuate our
settlements: all of Israel is ours, why shouldn't we
settle where we want to? These evacuations are illegal. If the government must
evacuate, it has to offer a viable alternative to settlers, which it hasn't so
far.

I wouldn't be surprised if Palestinians respond to these
events violently — they are violent anyways, they have been attacking Jews here
for the past 70 years. Settlers are rarely those who attack first, or only in
isolated incidents.

I don't think there can be lasting peace until Arabs,
including Palestinians in the West Bank and
Gaza Strip, understand that there can only be one state, Israel, and that they
are citizens of that state, with the same rights and obligations as other
Israelis."

"There is an unspoken policy of leniency against Israeli settler violence"

Sarit Michaeli is the Communication Director of the human rights association B'Tselem.

The process of "price tag" retaliation has been around
for months. Palestinians are targeted every time that there has been an
evacuation of Jewish homes. The Israeli police in Hebron had no excuse not to prevent these
latest attacks and protect the Palestinian populations around the new Israeli
settlement.

B'Tselem had in fact anticipated acts of revenge by
settlers and called on security forces to act, but nothing was done, or too
little. A journalist on the site at the time of the attacks said that there was
no law enforcement present in the area, which is only a five-minute walk away
from the evacuated Israeli settlement.

The two Palestinians who were shot were a man of 40, who
was shot in the chest and seriously injured, and his father, 65, who was shot in
the arm. Both were hospitalized, then detained by Israeli police in Hebron where they are
currently being held for questioning.

The government has to deploy the necessary troops and
ensure the safety of the population in disputed territories. It must also
vigorously enforce the law in a way that will send a clear message to settlers
who resort to violence and deter them from acting that way in the future.

For years, there has been an ongoing and very well
documented lack of law enforcement in occupied territories. This unspoken policy
of leniency is systemic, and has to be dealt with in a systemic way. It has
created a climate where settlers seem to think that they are above the law."